
James Shigeta
Known for department: Acting
Birthday: 1929-06-17 – 2014-07-28
Place of birth: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Biography
James Saburo Shigeta (June 17, 1929 – July 28, 2014) was an American actor, singer, and musician of Japanese descent. He was noted for his roles in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1961), Die Hard (1988), and Mulan (1998). In 1960, he won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, along with three other actors. In his early career, Shigeta often played romantic male lead roles, which were almost nonexistent for an actor of Asian descent during his time, making him a trailblazer in Asian American representation in media. The Goldsea Asian-American Daily magazine listed him as one of the "Most Inspiring Asian-Americans Of All Time". Before his Hollywood career he found success as a pop singer and performer abroad, especially in Japan and Australia.
Known for

Brother
2000Sugimoto
Die Hard
1988Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Mulan
1998General Li (voice)
Flower Drum Song
1961Wang Ta
Drive
1997Mr. Lau
The Crimson Kimono
1959Detective Joe Kojaku
The Yakuza
1974Goro
The People I've Slept With
2009Charles Yang
The Questor Tapes
1974Dr. Chen
Escape to Mindanao
1968Lt. Takahashi
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
1966Danny KohanaHome from the Eastern Sea
1990Narrator
Matt Helm
1975Tom McCauley
Tomorrow's Child
1982Donald Shibura
Carol for Another Christmas
1964Japanese Doctor
Lost Horizon
1973Brother To-Lenn
Death Walks in Laredo
1967Lester Koto
Cry for Happy
1961Suzuki
Bridge to the Sun
1961Hidenari Terasaki